86 



INTELLECTUAL AND IMITATIVE 



have subsided, the birds subjected to its influence , 

 may be handled with less danger of being bitten. 

 If, on the contrary, they are still unruly, the opera- 

 tion is repeated again and again till it is effectual. 



Whether in a natural or captive state. Parrots 

 have universally very destructive propensities. They t 

 seem to have the greatest pleasure in laying waste 

 every thing within their reach. This is most con- ; 

 spicuous with the larger species. Wherever they 

 settle in flocks, they leave unequivocal marks of their 

 devastations. The bark of trees, young branches, 

 and leaves, are torn to pieces ; and fruits which they; 

 cannot consume, are wantonly separated from their; 

 stems, and cast to the ground ; and those that still i 

 remain are mutilated by their destructive bills. In 

 a state of captivity they are equally mischievous : the 

 furniture is minced, and books, or any thing within 

 their reach, torn to pieces. The perches of their 

 cages, if made of wood, seldom last for a few days 

 and even the wires are twisted and bent, unless they 

 are very strong. 



The Amazon Parrot (^Psittacus cBstivus) and 

 the Gray Parrot (Psittacus eryihacus) are most 

 susceptible of education of all their congeners. 

 They can articulate more distinctly, and imitate 

 more naturally the cries of animals, and particular 

 sounds, than any others of their tribe. A friend of 

 ours, in Great King street, Edinburgh, has a Parrot, 

 which keeps excellent time to a piano-forte, while 

 the lady of the house is playing. This it does by a 

 chicking sound, and occasionally by a strange kind 



